Louisville Postgame Thoughts

[pokercuse08]

If this team went on this run pre-NET, we'd be giving them more credit. We know that "a win is a win" isn't the whole story, so it's frustrating to see blowout wins turn into closer games as a bubble team.

 

[Cheriehoop]

There are those that are not ready to accept Red can do better with the same players.

This post will be...

Red’s done a great job but I would hope that sophomores would improve from freshman year especially after losing Jesse and JoeG. Credit to the players and the staff for adjusting, being flexible and learning through the season. Love watching players develop.

 

[SUOrangeSU]

Think we’re two wins away from the ncaat. Clemson and 1 win in ACCT, we in…lose clemson, need 2 in the ACCT

 

[OptimusOtto]

Beat Clemson

 

[mark79]

I truly don’t think people understand how much this team is achieving. When are we going to give them the credit they deserve instead of all these back hand compliments ? It’s so weird to me that people aren’t genuinely happy with these outcomes

I am genuinely happy! Over the past 10 years or so, is this not a gene we would have lost? I was preparing myself for that pretty strong possibility.in all honesty.

 

[mark79]

Think we’re two wins away from the ncaat. Clemson and 1 win in ACCT, we in…lose clemson, need 2 in the ACCT

Somehow that feels right.

 

[kcsu]

Not to nit pick but general question - for the folks who think margin of winning doesn't show how good a team is, what is your opinion on high margin of losses? Our margin in losses is about -18 point difference (with 2 almost 40 point losses) and most of our good wins are against teams on the wrong side of the bubble.

Having played at the college level point spread is without a doubt the least important factor once you get past about 6 or 7 points either way. Why?
Because of substitutions, because of missed foul shots, garbage buckets, the 3 point shot ect...
Anyone who watches a game can see a few obvious things.
1: The better team and by how much.
2: Teams that are evenly matched.
For me 7 points is the number to focus on.
If a team maintains a margin of 7 points or greater for the MAJORITY of a game that team is the superior team and should get some sort of BONUS credit for the win.
Anything under 7 and it's just a win, no bonus.
Anything greater than 7 doesn't add to the bonus.
This to me is a much better indicator of the superior team than the final score which can easily fluctuate by 10 or more points in the last 2 minutes of a game and really not be indicative of anything meaningful.

 

[kcsu]

We are 6-2 without Benny, I don’t think it's a coincidence, a clubhouse cancer

Trying to appease Benny, find minutes for Benny, find shots for Benny... was the issue as the kid just didn't have it.

 

[Eric15]

Judah has made 40 of his last 46 free throws.

 

[Newhouser]

Tournament or not, this has been an impressive 1st season for Red. Taking nothing away from the players, Red has pretty much made "chicken salad" given the hand he's been dealt with the roster construction, the injuries, and the dismissal.

I agree. For me, am assuming the Tournament is not happening no matter what. It somehow is making me appreciate the season more leaving that angst behind and appreciating the growth of Red and the team.

 

[Niastri]

I loved him. called a spade a spade all day long

T.O. was great.

He was like Dick Vitale before he became Dookie V.

 

[Niastri]

Only caught the second half.

1) Ville stinks. I don’t care.
2) There were some dumb things that we did in that half. I don’t care.
3) our Net will still be ridiculous. I don’t care.

Just keep winning.

This is a team with parts that don’t perfectly fit, but right now, it doesn’t matter.

We’re approaching “Clear eyes, full hearts, can’t lose” territory.

If we get the four seed, this stupid southern conference better recognize Red, Judah and Maliq appropriately.

We get into the NCAAT, you are going to see me draft a position-paper-as-a-post that will convince you this team could take down the ‘96 Bulls.

LFGO.

Mintz would embarrass Jordan!

 

[DuxburyO]

If we beat Clemson we should be #4. The win would make us 12-8. Clemson would then be 10-9 with one game to play. They can’t catch us regardless of their last games outcome.

It won’t be easy, especially since it’s away and Senior Night for them, but that’s why you play the games.

Go Orange.

 

[JustPherU]

If we beat Clemson we should be #4. The win would make us 12-8. Clemson would then be 10-9 with one game to play. They can’t catch us regardless of their last games outcome.

It won’t be easy, especially since it’s away and Senior Night for them, but that’s why you play the games.

Go Orange.

Wake Forest has 2 home games left and they would have tiebreaker if they win them both.They haven’t lost at home all year

 

[Red Holzman]

I was at a thing and couldn’t watch the game closely. Apologies, I’m sure was discussed in the game thread and I only made it through first 3 pages of this one - can someone explain what happened lol. It sounds like people are saying we played poorly, but we won, albeit against a bad team. I’ll check over on the game thread but if anyone has the time would appreciate a quick summary.

Quick summary:
Be very glad that you are not a Louisville fan.
Watching that "team" hurts my eyes.

 

[sugrad68]

This team has far exceeded my expectations. We lose our starting center, our 5-star PF is kicked off the team, Westry never plays, our 2 centers behind Brown contribute little, Cuffe gets little playing time. So it is basically a 6 man team out there which is very undersized in the frontcourt. Taylor is often guarding a guy towering over him. And we beat a team on the road and our NET ranking drops 2? The team certainly has its weaknesses but it's hard to fault them for their play overall. To close, Bell has made highlight reel defensive plays the last 2 games. His improvement on D is incredible.

 

[Newhouser]

my interpretation:
we did play poorly. At times.
We also played well.
We played well more than poorly
the highs were very high
then the lows were very low
and they seemed to occur at regular intervals.
it would be close. We would get our crap together and extend the lead. Sometimes BIG.
Then we'd doze off and let them back in with complete ineptitude at times on the defensive end.

Cliff notes version.We played mind numbingly dumb at times but mainly beat a bad team in their building rather easily.

 

[Fly Rodder]

Think we’re two wins away from the ncaat. Clemson and 1 win in ACCT, we in…lose clemson, need 2 in the ACCT

At the very least, don’t get embarrassed at Clemson. Keep it to a 1 or 2 possession loss. There’s a lot of middling teams with some good wins and lack of real bad losses in the way of a tourney bid.

 

[Red Holzman]

Quick diversion-
Nominee for "most mind-blowing display of Bad Basketball" by the CardiNots:
Maliq on the line, all SU players back, 4 CardiNots on the blocks for the rebound.
CardiNot to Maliq's right signals to teammate across from him to box Maliq.
Maliq then breezes through ENTIRE 4 player CardiNot Receiving Line to get to ball and SU possession.

If I was a CardiNot fan, would have turned the game off at that point.
Somebody probably has another nominee -many candidates!

 

[bt4421]

A young team. Seen significant growth as the season has progressed, and especially since the dismissal of Benny. Cudos to the players and coaches.
Now, as to the fan complaints of blowing leads and not blowing out inferior teams, this is the hallmark of a young team. Our beloved Orange currently are basically playing at the level of their opponent.
As has been stated, the poor free-throw shooting was the main difference. I wouldn't be overly concerned, as I suspect against higher competition we'll see higher free-throw percentage with increased concentration from the orange. Hopefully...

All in all, very excited for Red and the players and personally very satisfied as a fan with year 1

 

[Red Holzman]

At the very least, don’t get embarrassed at Clemson. Keep it to a 1 or 2 possession loss. There’s a lot of middling teams with some good wins and lack of real bad losses in the way of a tourney bid.

Key IMO:
Judah needs to avoid getting derailed in "Me vs Joe" mindset.
Much improved of late-
Needs to play the game that resurrected SU's season, not the one for the cameras/scouts.
The Clemson game can be an exclamation point for Judah's season, if he lets it come to him.

 

[JustPherU]

Quick diversion-
Nominee for "most mind-blowing display of Bad Basketball" by the CardiNots:
Maliq on the line, all SU players back, 4 CardiNots on the blocks for the rebound.
CardiNot to Maliq's right signals to teammate across from him to box Maliq.
Maliq then breezes through ENTIRE 4 player CardiNot Receiving Line to get to ball and SU possession.

If I was a CardiNot fan, would have turned the game off at that point.
Somebody probably has another nominee -many candidates!

The play just before the half where Judah just blows right by the defense for an uncontested dunk is up there.

 

[billsin01]

BROKE TAKE: Judah is selfish and only playing for NBA scouts

WOKE TAKE: Judah coming back single handily made Reds first year successful (because if he leaves it all falls apart) and the momentum we now have is something that woildnt have happened without Judah. Red needed this In his first year. Judah coming back made this possible.

If Red ends up working out here I hope Judah coming back isn’t lost in the story

My stance is this: much of the criticism of Judah has been accurate and warranted. Some of the criticism has been waaayyyy over the top.

But regardless of where you stand, Judah is the most talented and dangerous player on this roster. We wouldn’t have been better without him. No chance. And if he’s gone next year it’s a massive hole to plug.

Also, if you’re someone who’s been hammering Judah all year — again, at least a good chunk of it with merit — you also need to acknowledge how well he’s been playing lately, particularly as a distributor. He’s been, along with brown, killing teams off that high ball screen. It’s been a clinic the past few games (even NC State where he missed 10 mins of the first half, his first 10 mins were outstanding).

He’s a very good player. Frustrating at times, but very, very talented.

 

[hoopsupstate]

He’s still a young player that’s a ”little” immature.

 

[cusefan88]

If Judah can use his dribble drive more to set up teammates and get assists he could be in the NBA much sooner. I do see him being a bit more unselfish recently.